


Heart Scales

by Zinnia_Mimosa



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Edward Owns a Snake, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Pets, Yes that warrants its own tag, he deserves one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:54:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27780325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zinnia_Mimosa/pseuds/Zinnia_Mimosa
Summary: Edward is grieving, but he finds comfort in an unusual friend.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 15





	Heart Scales

The door creaked open with a stubborn stiffness. Ed peaked his head inside, and gazed across the room, the light that flooded in illuminating a decorated glass terrarium.

As Ed approached the tank, a small, orange head poked out from underneath the hide inside. It looked up at him with big, curious eyes, as he undid the clasps on either side of the terrarium.

“Hey Ginger,” Ed hummed softly, reaching his hand in to pet the corn snake, to which she gladly met by headbutting his fingers, “Been a while, huh?” 

Ed turned around, and used a pair of metal pliers to offer Ginger her lunch. She sniffed a few times, before she struck, snatching the mouse from his grasp, before she pulled it half way into her little makeshift aspen ‘burrow’.

Ed’s arms fell to his side, as he sat down on the table next to the terrarium. He stared over at the wall adjacent to them with a blank expression.

“Sorry about that,” He murmured, “I guess… a lot has happened. We haven’t had a chance to feed you in a while. You must have been hungry.”

Ginger did not respond, as snakes cannot talk. Ed hadn’t expected her to. He didn’t even know why he was talking. But he kept going anyway.

“Yeah…. It’s been a lot…” Ed repeated, gaze vacant, staring off into space. “We had to arrange all of that stuff for mom, and stayed over at Granny Pinako’s for a bit. I guess we kind of forgot about you,” Ed said, trailing off as a measure of guilt leaked into his voice.

Ed elapsed into silence after that. As Ginger finished her dinner, she glanced over at him with a tilted head.

“Winry was the one who reminded me you were here. We were um… by the graveyard, and she mentioned you.” Ed continued, now fiddling with his hands, “Al felt pretty guilty about it. I mean, it has been almost three weeks. But you seem okay. Mom did say snakes can go a long time without eating...”

_The date was 1903, February 3rd. Edward was turning four today. Trisha had taken the boys outside to play, a thin dusting of snow still on the ground._

_By the time they came back in, Trisha was sitting beside a single, still wrapped present. She was smiling a knowing smile._

_Al’s eyes widened, as he nudged his brother, and whispered, “Surprise present.” Ed nodded, his confusion turning into a cheery eyed grin, as the two approached the present._

_Trisha undid the ribbon, and opened the top of the present. Out poked a tiny, scaly head. Al jumped in surprise, and hid behind Ed, who merely blinked at the little creature._

_“Whuz’ that?” Al asked timidly, poking his head out from behind his brother._

_“It’s a corn snake,” Trisha said, as she lifted the little snake out from the box. It was bright orange, with an intricate white splotched pattern, unlike anything Ed had ever seen before, “Her name is Ginger.”_

_Ed, being the slightly braver of the two, edged forward, eyes big as he watched the reptile. Trisha continued to smile encouragingly, “I know she’s not as cuddly as a kitten, but snakes are low maintenance, and she’ll be a great friend for you two.”_

_Ed tilted his head at the snake. She tilted her head in return. Bravado restored, Ed pushed his hand forward, gently patting the snake’s head. She flicked her tongue up at him, remaining docile and indifferent. Ed’s smile quickly returned, eyes sparkling with wonder._

Back in the present, Ginger flicked her tongue out at Ed, uncomprehending of what he was going on about. But that didn’t matter, as she looked content just to have her owner around.

“Mom’s… not going to be coming over to see you anymore,” Ed said, his voice so soft it was almost a whisper. His gaze diverted from the wall to stare down at his feet. 

Ginger took this as her que to begin slithering up the side of the terrarium, poking her head out over the top of the glass. 

Ed’s hand had started to tremble, but he bit his lip, gaze hardening, “Why didn’t she say anything? That doctor said she’s been sick for a long time. Maybe they could have helped her sooner…”

Something soft nudged up against Ed’s now clenched hand. He almost jumped in surprise. Ginger had somehow managed to slither all the way over to him from her place in the tank without him noticing, and was now rubbing her face against her knuckles. She glanced up at him, almost expectant.

Ed only blinked at her, taking in a steadying breath. He brought his hand, which was still shaking, up to his face, and wiped away the tears that he hadn’t realized he’d been getting close to shedding.

“It’s stupid…” Ed murmured, “I don’t know why I’m telling you this. I don’t know why I’m….” He paused, as Ginger decided to curl up on his lap, and placed her scaly head on his chest. Her big amber eyes were warm and inviting for such a cold-blooded reptile.

He stroked her head, sniffling, as he tried futility to get rid of the tears that had already started to fall. But having Ginger’s head resting on his shoulder seemed to be enough to send him over the edge. Weeks of holding in the grief he’d been experiencing, for the sake of trying to stay strong around Winry, Al, and even to himself, threatened to spill over.

You can’t bury your head into a snake like you can a dog. They don’t have fur to cover up your tears with. But there is comfort to be found in the way they methodically, but gently, wrap their bodies around your arms, the way they flick their tongue up at your tear stained face. It’s almost therapeutic, in a way, to feel them slither across your arms. Their entire body is a muscle, so it’s kind of like a small scale hug.

Ed remained still, as he gently stroked Ginger’s head. He couldn’t get the tears to stop, but having Ginger curled up around his arm helped.

He wasn’t sure how long he stayed there, cuddling with Ginger. After a while, he finally pulled away, rubbing his eyes with his free hand.

“Thanks, Ging.” Ed said quietly. Ginger merely slowly poked her tongue out at him as a display of affection, one that was comical enough to almost make Ed giggle through his tears.

He got up, and redid the clasps on her tank. Ginger face-planted her snout against the glass, and continued to watch him.

Ed trailed his hand on the glass, meeting the reptile’s gaze, “Don’t worry. I have to go now, but I’ll be back. And I’ll make sure to come bring Al next time. I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you.” Ed said.

Ginger was a part of their family. And with that seemingly like it kept dwindling, it was important to hold those that remained even closer.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for two reasons. 1) Edward deserves a snake, and I wanted to write about Ed having a snake. 2) It's slightly introspective, as I wanted to illustrate how I view snakes - which is to say gentle, friendly, and loving - so that I can give people who might not share that perspective some insight. Snakes can be surprisingly therapeutic when you're upset.
> 
> It's short because this was meant to just be a drabble that I hadn't really intended on posting. But I was happy enough with it I thought "what the heck". So uh, enjoy. :)


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